A comparison of the Physical Properties and Chemical Components of Irish Grown Organic and Conventional Carrots (Daucus carota L.)

Proceedings of the 38th Annual Research Conference on Food, Nutrition and Consumer Sciences, UCC, Cork. September 2008, p16

Abstract

Organically farmed foods have seen a significant rise in popularity over the past decade. The objective of this study was to establish if there are differences in the physical properties and chemical components of Irish grown organic and conventional carrots (cv Nairobi). Three batches of raw organic carrots and three batches of raw conventional carrots were tested. The physical characteristics (chroma, hue, cylindrical form of the root, maximum compressive load) and chemical components (pH, oBrix, dry matter, GC-MS) were measured. Analysis of variance showed no significant differences (P>0.05) for chroma, hue, cylindrical form of the root or the maximum compressive load values of organic and conventional carrots. Similarly, the growing systems did not affect the pH or dry matter values of the carrots. However, a significant difference (P<0.05) was reported for oBrix values, with the conventional carrot samples having a higher value. Major volatile compounds identified in both the organic and conventional carrot samples were terpinolene, β-pinene, α-pinene, sabiene, p-cymene, γ-terpinene, caryophyllene, humulene and β-bisabolene. With the exception of soluble solids, no significant differences were found in the physical properties and chemical components of Irish grown organic and conventional carrots.